Another day in Carentan
by pumpkinnubbin
Summary: Instead of Will, it's Kate who got stuck with Magnus in Carentan. And she's lonely. All Magnus does is work and it tears at Kate. A confrontation is needed. How things evolve from there aren't quite what either one of them expected.


They had completely lost track of time during their forced stay in Carentan. But then, Kate decided, it wasn't important how long they were already here so long they'd get out again. This entire thing was exhausting and she knew it was tearing at Magnus too. Only that Helen had more time than Kate did. She occupied herself with working like crazy without any breaks in hopes of finding anything.

"Magnus, you need a break."

"Nonsense. I'm fine."

Kate rolled her eyes at her and grabbed whatever it was she was working on this time. It was the same thing every time she came to see her. She'd tell her to take a break and get the same reply; no. That was another thing that was exhausting for Kate. The older one glared at her, clearly not happy about the rude interruption.

"Seriously. You've been working nonstop for I don't even know how long now. You _need_ a break... And frankly, I could use some company."

She whispered the last part, putting the item back on the table before leaving. She hated to admit it but she was feeling lonely. Ever since they got here, Magnus was busy working and she didn't feel comfortable around the other villagers. She was alone most of the time and it was driving her insane. Ravi checked up on her sometimes and a couple of others but none she'd be eager to talk to very much.

Helen looked after her, heaving a sigh before deciding it would be best to follow her. She had been edgy for a while now, Helen had noticed but she had been too busy working to do anything about it or ask her about it. She looked around the village, unable to find her anywhere so she headed to the outskirts of town, finding her around the area they had arrived at.

"Kate..."

The young woman sat in the grass, picking at it absently when she heard her name. She looked up at the mention, visibly upset.

"I'm sorry..."

"You're trying to solve this. I know. But..." Kate started, shrugging when she wasn't sure how to continue her thought.

Helen sat down next to her, waiting in silence for her to go on. Kate sighed after a good minute, lifting her head up to stare into the sky.

"I'm lonely..." She admitted, "I know it's stupid but I miss... spending time with someone. Ravi has his wife and the others are kinda hesitant around me and I'm not that keen on talking to them either, to be honest. I only have you but all you do is work, all day."

"I'm sorry, Kate. Truly. I didn't realize."

She nodded briefly and got up again. It didn't matter. She knew Magnus meant well working so much and she was being quite selfish but she couldn't help it.

"We should go back.."

Helen got up too and they went back to the village. Kate was hungry and she needed a shower so she went straight to the food before retreating into their small house. They finished eating there, neither speaking a word to the other. Kate excused herself for the shower once done, leaving Helen to think.

Kate wasn't just lonely though. She missed another person's touch all the same. It had been too long, especially since they had gotten into this entire mess. She usually used the shower to take care of herself when it grew too bothering but it just wasn't the same. It was upsetting her and that got her moody and even a little snappy, mostly at Magnus. This time, her shower turned out the same.

Though she was done showering, she didn't feel like getting out yet. She kept the water coming, resting her head against the rather cool wall. She could cry right there. The loneliness was getting to her a lot these days. It took another five minutes until she eventually did step out, finding a towel to cover herself with before getting out of the small bathroom.

Helen looked up at her, smiling faintly and for a moment she feared she had been loud enough to be heard.

"What?" She asked, ready to blame a possible blush on the heat of the water.

"Hm? Nothing. I was just waiting for you."

Helen hadn't gone back to work in the good half an hour Kate had taken for her shower, scribbling some random notes and thinking.

"Okay.. Lemme just grab my clothes."

She walked to her bunch of clothes, clutching her towel to herself. Though her stuff was still a mess it was cleaner than it ever would be since she had to share the space with Magnus. Helen watched her walk by and frowned when her gaze fell on a scar on her exposed back she hadn't seen before. She got up to take a closer look, carefully reaching out to touch it once she was close enough.

Kate jumped at the sudden contact, not having realized Helen had followed her the few feet.

"Doc?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. It's just... this scar. I haven't seen it before. Where is it from, if I may ask?"

She turned her head back enough to look at her, shrugging once. Helen dropped her hand again and she immediately missed the warmth of her touch.

"Had a fight with my girlfriend at the time. Last one too. She pushed me and I fell onto her glass table."

"Ouch..."

"Yeah. Well, we broke it off after that and I've never seen her again." She shrugged, "It wasn't too bad though. The injury, I mean. Couple of stitches and I was good to go."

"Looks like it too." Helen nodded.

It didn't look too bad indeed but it had probably hurt a lot anyway. She smiled at her and took a step back.

"I didn't know you dated women before."

"Wouldn't call it dating. It was a relationship with one of them only. You dated some?"

"Yes, I did."

Kate hesitated a little before turning around and looking up at her, still tightly holding onto her towel.

"Doc... Just for while we're stuck here.. I.. Can we..?"

Her touch had felt good. She found herself craving more of it. At the same time she felt beyond awkward about asking though and she knew she was blushing. She just hoped Magnus wouldn't make her say the words exactly. The stuttering had already been bad enough, no way she would manage more than this. Her eyes widened in surprise and her blush deepened when Helen simply nodded in agreement.


End file.
